


The Magic Within

by DinnerPlate



Category: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Genre: Action/Adventure, Elements of Harmony (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic), Found Friends, Friendship, Gen, cutie mark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-17 05:28:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29095032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DinnerPlate/pseuds/DinnerPlate
Summary: When Pinkie Pie drags Twilight along to visit a mysterious friend in the Everfree Forest, it becomes clear that this new friend is hiding a crippling problem. Twilight sets out to help her, but it will take more than knowledge and friendship to save the young mare from the thing that haunts her.





	The Magic Within

**Author's Note:**

> * Timeframe: After the Tree of Harmony regained the Elements, but before Tirek's attack. **

Wild and ungoverned, the Everfree forest usually possessed it's own ominous silence that spoke to the dangers that awaited one there. Usually, that is, unless a certain loud pink-coated mare happened to be within its bounds.

"Twilight come on! I told her I was coming today and we just CAN'T be late!" Pinkie bounced ahead of Twilight, giving her best imitation of a hyperactive kangaroo as they followed a seemingly random path through the forest.

"Pinkie, if you told this pony you were coming today but didn't give her a time, then how can we possibly be late?" Twilight queried as she trotted behind Pinkie. "Besides, where are we going anyhow? You're being very secretive about this." Pinkie had doubled back down trails, stopped and skirted down tiny tracks, and generally led Twilight on a wild goose chase through the forest until Twilight was quite certain they were going to be lost inside it for good.

"I told you!" sang Pinkie, "It's a secret! This pony is one of my oldest and closest friends but she made me promise to never tell anyone where she lived!"

Twilight rolled her eyes, taking in the dark and overgrown trees as she did.

"But we're in the Everfree Forest." She stated flatly. "There's only one pony that lives here, and that's Zecora. And we all _know_ where she lives!" Twilight's voice ended on a slightly annoyed pitch. By her calculations, they were far away from Zecora's tree, but then again, who knew. Pinkie suddenly stopped dead and stared hard at Twilight.

"It's NOT Zecora. Now shhhh, we're almost there!" And in an instant she was back to bouncy Pinkie. Twilight just shook her head and trotted along behind her.

*OOOOFFFHHH*. Stars flooded Twilight's vision as she reeled back from running smack into Pinkie where Pinkie had stopped dead.

*SHHHHHHHHHH* Pinkie admonished. "We're here." The soft whisper was followed by a shout that made Twilight start. "I'M HERE! I'M HERE, WHERE ARE YOU?! IT'S PINKIE!"

"Why'd she tell me to hush again?" Twilight muttered rubbing her head as she surveyed the clearing they'd walked into. It was neat and almost tidy, quite a rarity in the Everfree Forest. Off to one side a rambling tree house linked several wizened trees together, and a rickety set of stairs led to its main part. Towards the middle there appeared to be some gardening attempts watered by the merest trickle of a stream that looped through the clearing.

"I told you to hush because I didn't tell her I was bringing you." Pinkie suddenly whispered in Twilight's ear. "But if anyone can help her, you can." Twilight raised her eyebrow at that curious statement. "ANYPONY HOME?!"

"Geez Pinkie, are you trying to alert the entire neighborhood to the fact that I'm here?!" A good-natured, somewhat lower mare's voice came from the direction of the tree house. Then again, Twilight reckoned, any pony's voice was lower than Pinkie's. The voice went on.

"Zecora and I only _just_ figured out a way to keep the Timberwolves from sniffing this place out every other moon, I'd rather keep it that way for a bit." At that, a golden-coated unicorn stepped out from behind one of the tree house supports. She was longer limbed than Pinkie, with two-toned deep fuchsia and brighter almost pink fuchsia mane and tail, the mane worn shoulder length with a few locks shorter over her face, and the tail about knee length and a bit wavy. The pony's deep teal eyes were glittering with joy as she ran gaily over to intercept Pinkie who'd gone tearing over to meet her. Twilight's quick eye noticed the briefest glow around the strange mare's horn as she bear hugged Pinkie.

"I'M SO SO SOOOO GLAD TO SEE YOU!" Pinkie squealed in her usual exuberant fashion.

"It's so good to see you too Pink! You haven't been out to see me in forever!" The mare grinned happily as their embrace finally broke apart.

"I'm sorry. But I was busy! There were all these parties, and fun, and saving Equestria…" Pinkie rambled.

"Whoa, back up. Saving Equestria? Again? Sheesh Pink, let some other pony have the honor once in a while." The mare winked at Pinkie, who giggled.

"I'll tell you later, I promise. But guess what. I brought you a present!" Pinkie danced in place as she spoke.

"You did?! Awww Pinkie you didn't have to. What is it?! Is it something from Sugarcube Corner? Oh my I've missed those sweet sweet treats soooo much…" the mare had a limp and day-dreamy look on her face as she affected drooling. Twilight snorted. The mare clearly had the sense of humor to keep up with the irrepressible Pinkie!

"Nope, even better!"

"What?!"

"I brought you my friend Twilight!" Pinkie gestured over to where Twilight stood. At that the mare froze and turned slowly to see Twilight standing awkwardly at the edge of the clearing.

"Er. Hi there!" Twilight forced out with a smile plastered on. The mare continued to stare wild-eyed at Twilight and slowly started to back away with her tail over her flanks. "I'm, um, I'm Twilight, uh, Pinkie's friend…" Twilight trailed off.

"Pinkie…" whispered the mare. "I thought I told you never to bring any pony else here. No one is suppose to know..." She looked terrified as she kept backing towards the darkened cover of the tree house. Not a trace of the joy in seeing Pinkie remained on her face.

"But Aur…" Pinkie looked pleadingly at her. "She can help you! That's why I brought her. Her special talent IS magic, and she's the princess of it so if anyone can help you she can!" At that, the mare grimaced in fear and scooted back so fast she didn't watch where she was going; and backed full-tilt into one of the trees. She flopped on her rump and shook her head, looking dazed.

"Oh my!" Twilight finally unfroze herself and ran over to the mare and offered her hoof to help her up, which the mare accepted. "Are you alright? Look, I'm sorry about this. Pinkie," Twilight took a second to glare at her friend, who at least had the grace to look abashed, "didn't tell me that you didn't know I was coming until I was already here. I am really sorry." Twilight's voice took on a softer tone. "My name's Twilight, and despite Pinkie throwing around the fact that I'm a princess now, I don't feel much different. Except for these." Twilight awkwardly flapped her still new wings, eliciting a half grin from the mare, who still stood with her head bowed. "From what Pinkie said, you have a problem that a pony with magic experience would be able to help with? Would you care to tell me about it? Any friend of Pinkie is a friend of mine, and I want to help if I can." Twilight smiled encouragingly at the mare, who finally gave a small smile back, and sighed. Twilight gave a slight frown, noticing that the mare still had her tail glued tight to her flanks.

"Er… I don't think I caught your name?"

"My name is Aura. Aura Skies." Aura still looked hesitant to say more.

"What's this problem Pinkie mentioned?" Twilight's voice was gentle now. Aura looked at the ground, and took a deep shuddering breath before speaking.

"I don't really like to talk about it… Pink… I said to leave it alone. What's to be done anyhow?" Pinkie rolled her eyes as Aura spoke.

"And watch you be miserable? What kind of friend would I be if I let THAT happen?"

"But… it's…."

"It's what." Pinkie became suddenly serious.

"It's embarrassing." Aura's face was flushed as she spoke.

"So's my Pinkie sense. And you don't see me hiding it."

"That's different!"

"No it's not. C'mon Aur." Pinkie enthused.

"You know how hard that is for me Pink… it's why I came out here..."

"Yeah? What were you planning to do, hide out in the forest forever?"

"That seemed to be the general idea, yes." Aura glared at Pinkie. Pinkie stopped nose to nose with Aura and a very serious expression on her face.

"Don't. You. TRUST ME?" Aura stepped back from Pinkie's outburst, abashed.

"Of course I do Pink…"

"Then. Trust me. I trust Twilight. Twilight can help." Aura sighed and looked down from Pinkie's stare. "Now just tell her! She won't laugh, I promise." Pinkie said beseechingly.

"Promise?" Aura looked pleadingly at Twilight.

"Promise." Twilight said firmly.

"Fine. Princess Twilight, my… well… Oh I hate admitting this…." She grimaced as though the words were costing her every effort, then sighed and hung her head. The words came tumbling out then, "I… I'm a unicorn but I can't do magic…." Her voice shook with the effort. "I don't know what my special talent is… and, and I don't even have a real cutie mark!" Twilight gasped in surprise as Aura's tail fell down off her flanks to reveal the faintest outline of a heart that was only visible because of something ambiguous in a circle around it that looked almost watermarked on the mare's flank. Aura gazed mournfully at the ground as Twilight sat down in surprise, jaw hanging open and wings half cocked.

"Well that's something new." She managed to murmur.

A long, awkward silence ensued. Even the forest seemed hushed. Pinkie stared at the tableau between Aura's depressed face and Twilight's astonished one, and sighed. Her whole plan had gone quite awry.

"Twilight, I don't think your reaction helped anything." She said, flatly.

Twilight broke from her reverie and looked abashed at Pinkie.

"You're right." She turned to Aura who was still gazing at the ground, a single tear gathering in the corner of her eye. "Aura?" She called softly. "I'm sorry. That was a terrible reaction. I promised not to laugh, but that reaction wasn't much better. I'm so sorry."

Aura spoke without looking up. "It's ok."

"No, no it's not." Twilight said earnestly. Aura flicked an ear at her. "You've probably had enough of people reacting like that to your, er, situation. I should have been able to see that by your reaction to me being here unannounced. I just went and added to the problem when Pinkie brought me here to try and fix it. I'm truly sorry." Twilight gazed at Aura mournfully. Aura slowly shifted her gaze to meet Twilight's, hesitated a moment, and then smiled wearily.

"It's alright. Really. You… you mean it. And that says a lot."

Was that a flash around her horn? Before Twilight got a good look, it had vanished. Aura was unaware of anything unusual, and had turned to stare resignedly at Pinkie.

"Well Pink? This was your foolhardy plan." There was no malice in her voice, just sadness.

"That sure didn't go as planned." Pinkie looked uncharacteristically serious. Her eyes suddenly brightened. "But it doesn't have to stay that way! Aura, do you still trust me that I think Twilight might be able to help you?"

"I always trust you, Pink." Aura said quietly, but she gazed at her friend with soft eyes. Pinkie shot her a warm smile.

"Thennnnn, let's eat some food!" Both Twilight and Aura stared at her. Pinkie looked between them, bemused. "Whaaat? Food brings ponies together. You two need to be brought together. So, it's food time!" Twilight and Aura looked from each other to Pinkie's contagious grin, then back to each other, and finally Aura cracked and started laughing, wiping the tear away from her eye as she did.

"It always comes down to food or parties with you, Pink, and I can't say you're wrong!" She was still laughing as she caught Twilight's eye. "I have some food and tea up in the tree house. Please come up. I… I should really apologize for my reaction to you as well. I've been dealing with this problem for so long that my natural reaction to anyone new discovering it is fear." She sighed. "But Pinkie is right, I trust her, and I should have trusted that she knew what she was doing bringing you here. I'm sorry." Twilight's eyes had brightened all during Aura's talk, and she now caught Aura's eye with a smile.

"Apology accepted. I think we should _trust_ Pinkie on this one, and go get some tea while we sort this out." Aura snorted at Twilight's emphasis.

"Please come up, then." Twilight smiled as she stepped forward beside Aura.

"I'd love to."

"Good, 'cause I've already got a pot of water boiling for 3!" A muffled holler from inside the tree house confirmed that Pinkie had already bounded inside. Aura chuckled.

"I don't know what I'd do without her some days." She murmured. She and Twilight climbed up to the little house.

"How do you know Pinkie anyway?" Twilight asked, curiously. "I've never seen you around Ponyville."

"I'd already been here for a while before you came to town." Aura explained. Twilight gave her a curious look, eliciting a half grin. "Pinkie does keep me appraised of the goings on of the outside world. I know who you are from stories."

"I'm not sure I want to know what she's been telling you," Twilight groaned. Aura just laughed.

"Nothing bad, I promise!" She rustled around in the cupboards as she spoke.

"So you do know her from Ponyville then?" Twilight pulled the conversation back to her original question.

"I do." Aura emerged with a few boxes of cookies. "I grew up in Ponyville, my parents still live a few doors down from the Cakes near the center of town, actually. But Pinkie didn't come along until much later. She, well, you know her. She discovered who I was, why I didn't have any friends, and appointed herself my friend within about a day."

"Well DUHHHH" Pinkie interjected. "You were so sad and I wanted to make you happy! And then I discovered how incredibly awesome you were and we just HAD to become friends!" Twilight gave a laugh.

"That sounds like our Pinkie alright. Do you need help?" She asked, as Aura balanced a few teacups on her hoof and picked the kettle up with her teeth.

"Nupp." Came the muffled reply, and the kettle and teacups made it safely to the table with only a few wobbles.

"You really can't do magic, can you." Twilight stated, curiously. Aura flushed.

"No." She said shortly. Twilight grimaced.

"I didn't mean it in a bad way. I'm trying to piece together your story so I can try and help you." Aura grimaced as well.

"Sorry. Still touchy about it."

"No harm." Commented Twilight mildly. "Can you do any form of magic?"

"No. I can't get it to do anything. I try, and all I get is a headache. I've learned some of Zecora's particular brand of magic from her, more potions really, but nothing that enables me to use my own magic." At Twilight curious look, she explained. "Zecora helped me set this clearing up when I ran away to the forest. She's been a good friend. Tried her best to help with the cutie mark issue, but to no avail." Twilight stirred her tea, thinking.

"Has that mark always been there?" She queried.

"No." The word came out with a droll sigh. "I was a true blank flank for a long time. What ever this is," she flicked her tail angrily at her flank, "slowly faded into being. I thought it was just an odd shadow for a while."

"Strange…" muttered Twilight. "Cutie marks usually come all at once, I've never heard of one fading into being."

Aura shrugged. "Who knows. My parents kept taking me to different doctors and they all kept saying the same thing, 'we don't know.' Finally one day after a doctor had told me I just wasn't trying hard enough, I'd had it. I was fed up with living in a town where everyone stared at me like I had two heads and foals ran out of my way faster than a Wonderbolt so they wouldn't catch whatever made me still a blank flank. I was an embarrassment to my parents. So I fled. The Everfree Forest was the logical choice, since not a single pony goes in here voluntarily. I ran in… and promptly got lost. Thank goodness Zecora found me wandering around that night, I don't like to think what could have happened." She shuddered.

"I still wish you hadn't come out here." Pinkie broke in. "I tried to make you come back; you didn't have to run just because other ponies are stupid, but you wouldn't listen! I missed you." She stated plaintively. Aura looked over with saddened eyes at her friend.

"I know Pink. But I just couldn't deal with it. As much as I didn't want to leave you behind, you were ALL I was leaving behind. And I knew you'd come visit."

"You bet your bits I would!" Pinkie sang, perking up. Twilight still looked thoughtful.

"I'm assuming the other foals your age avoided you because of the cutie mark issue?" She mused, thinking of the Crusaders and all they'd been though on that score.

"Ye-up. School was… rough to say the least. At first, all of us foals were friends, until the first cutie mark appeared. Then, it was like watching an epidemic. Foals seemed to get their cutie marks in quick succession to the first. The other foals avoided me like the plague, at first because of my lack of a cutie mark, but by the end it was just an engrained habit." She looked down as the memories weighed heavily on her.

"A bit ridiculous of them, as there's no correlation between not having your mark and causing some other pony to not get theirs. But that age is superstitious unfortunately." Twilight commented ruefully.

"You can say that again." Muttered Aura. She glanced up all of a sudden at Pinkie, and mock glared. "Don't you dare."

"Whaaaaat?" sang the mare. "I wasn't going to do anything!" But the twinkle in her eye said otherwise.

"Huh?" That finally broke Twilight out of her reverie. Aura rolled her eyes.

"I said 'you can say that again' without thinking, and I know Pinkie would have actually repeated it back."

"You left the door wide open for it!" Pinkie protested indignantly. The girls all cracked up. As they wound down, Aura addressed Twilight.

"Any other pieces of information you're curious about?" Twilight was startled, and then acknowledged the significance of the question with a smile. She pondered the other unicorn for a moment.

"No magic, a faint cutie mark… I've never heard of anything like this. I wonder. Do you think, could you try to do magic for me?" Aura looked surprised at the request, but complied.

"Er… alright." She cautiously stood up, backed away, and screwed her face up in an expression of utmost concentration as beads of sweat dripped from her brow. Several white sparks shot out of her horn, but sizzled quickly to nothingness. Aura sank down in exhaustion. "See?"

"That's actually a good thing!" Twilight said exuberantly.

"Good?!" Aura's confusion was evident.

"Good. If you really didn't have any magic, you wouldn't have been able to produce any sparks of magic at all. But you _did_ , which means you _do_ have magic, it's just blocked or unable to come fully to light for some reason."

Aura stood with her mouth in an "O". Pinkie burst out with,

"See? I told you Twilight might be able to help!"

"That she has." Aura stated, still astonished at the logic. Twilight blushed.

"That's all I have so far. I don't have much to go off of yet. But… Aura? Would you be willing to come back with us to Ponyville, just for a little while? I want to see what the library can turn up, and it would be helpful to have you there to answer questions while we search." Aura grimaced in distaste, and then gave a resigned sigh.

"I suppose. I have a saddlebag I modified to ride further back on my flanks so ponies at least don't see the missing mark. I do need supplies occasionally."

"Excellent. Let's go then!"

…..

The three mares skirted the edge of town to enter the library unnoticed. Aura was mincing her way along, looking anxious every time they saw another pony even at a distance. She seemed exhausted by the time the library door shut behind them and she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Are you ok?" Twilight looked worriedly over at her new friend. Aura sank down on the floor.

"I… yeah. I just haven't been around other ponies for so long, it's incredibly overwhelming. Like a huge weight on me or something." Aura drooped as she spoke. Twilight stared thoughtfully at her for a moment.

"What?" Aura caught the stare.

"Nothing, maybe. I don't know. Just gathering all the information I can so we can figure out your unique situation!"

"Unique situation! Ooooo I like that!" Pinkie bounced into the room licking crumbs from her face. "Twilight can Spike cook for me everyday? He's sooooo good!"

"Pinkie did you convince Spike to bake for you?" Twilight rolled her eyes as she spoke. *And how did you do that in the minute since we entered the house?* she muttered.

"Nope, he offered!" A new voice called from a doorway. "And he thought since Pinkie brought a new friend who hasn't had treats much lately, he might make her some to say welcome to our house!" Spike, complete with chef's hat, minced into the room balancing a stack of plates at least two times his height. Aura giggled at the absurd sight. Somehow, a baby dragon seemed no threat to her, at least not in the way that ponies were. She instinctively felt quite at ease around him.

"Don't drop them!" She called out teasingly.

"Drop them? Never. I am the king of balance, the master of steady, the prince of... WHOOPS!" Spike had stepped on a book that lay innocently on the floor, causing his balance to, despite his assertions, be disrupted, and a cascade of plates fell in a beautiful cacophony onto his head and the floor. Twilight and Aura were running over immediately, Twilight swirling her magic around the broken plates and dripping sweets to pull them off Spike. She set them off to the side as Aura reached Spike.

"OH my, are you ok?" Spike looked dazedly up at her.

"Uh… I think so…."

"Your eyes say otherwise." Aura commented wryly, looking down at his eyes, which were spinning in different directions. "Pink, can you get some ice for him? And then I think he should probably lie down…" She looked at Twilight for approval.

"Excellent plan Aura. Pinkie, there should be some ice in the freezer."

"Okie dokie loki!" Pinkie bounded out of the library, absently humming as she did. Twilight turned back to see Aura nuzzling Spike gently.

"You'll be alright, just don't try to stand up quite yet. That was a lot of plates that just hit your head."

"Well… my head is rather hard… I AM a dragon you know!" Spike tried to stand up during his declaration, but swayed from foot to foot before falling into Aura's outstretched leg.

"Down Spike." She giggled again, and Twilight noticed the same strange glimmer around her horn as she'd noticed in the forest. But before she'd gotten more than a glance at it, it was gone. Twilight shook her head, confused. Fortunately Aura didn't notice the movement, and in short order Pinkie bounded back in with the ice and Spike curled gratefully into bed.

…..

"Nothing, nothing, nothing!" Twilight cried, pacing the library with a half dozen books suspended by magic around her. "I just can't believe that there's not one mention of a cutie mark fading into being. This can't be isolated!" The books dropped to the floor with a deafening thud as her magic released them.

"Princess…" Aura started. Twilight stopped pacing and rolled her eyes.

"Its just Twilight, Aura. Seriously. Any friend of Pinkie's is a friend of mine, and I get tired of all the "princess" stuff anyway."

"Sorry. Twilight."

"Better." Twilight grinned. "What were you saying?"

"I was saying, don't blame yourself or your books. No one else has ever heard of it either."

"I know. I just refuse to believe that you're the only one! And there has to be a logical explanation. Ughhhhhhhhh…." Twilight flopped to the ground and smacked her head repeatedly into a large volume.

"Could you keep it down? I've got a dragon sized headache over here and your moaning isn't helping matters." Spike appeared at the top of the stairs, still looking woozy, but in decidedly better humor.

"Spike I…. Wait that's IT! Of course, why didn't I think of it sooner!" Twilight rejoiced.

"Think of what?" Aura looked up hopefully from where she lay, multiple books spread before her.

"No pony in our time has ever heard of a cutie mark fading into existence, but I'll bet Celestia has if it's happened before! Spike, do you feel well enough to send a letter?"

"Pshaw. Nothing to it."

Twilight wrote out a quick note which Spike dispatched with one burp, before he stuffed half a loaf of bread in his mouth and went back to sleep.

"And now we wait." Twilight glanced outside and groaned. "Aura, I'm sorry, I promised the girls I'd meet them at Sugarcube Corner for dinner and it looks like I'm late already." Aura rose.

"It's ok, really. You have to wait for an answer from the princess anyway, so I'll just head home for the night." She turned to leave.

"Wait… why don't you come with us?" Twilight stepped forward eagerly.

"Into… into town?" Aura hesitated.

"Sure! The girls won't laugh, I promise. And it's late enough that not as many ponies will be around. Hopefully those who don't know you will just think you're a friend of mine from Canterlot or something."

"Well…"

"You have your saddle bags right, just wear them! Please come. I'm sure the girls would love to meet you."

"Maybe… I…"

"Oh come on. Pinkie will be there! So that's two friendly faces at least."

"I… alright. I'll come." Aura sighed reluctantly.

"Great!" Twilight enthused.

…..

"So YOU'RE Pinkie's mysterious friend! Ha. Glad you actually exist, I was starting to wonder." Rainbow cracked as she leaned back in her chair. The seven ponies were grouped haphazardly around two tables pushed together, and both were littered with food wrappers, napkins, and cups.

"I reckon you got mighty lonely livin' out there on your own, didn't'ja sugar cube?" Applejack looked over at Aura who smiled shyly.

"No, not really. I've never been overly fond of other ponies, and Zecora was friend enough. Once I was able to understand her that is." The ponies all giggled at that.

"And you lived out there alone? Without any pets at all?" Fluttershy looked aghast. "Oh how did you manage? We can fix that straight away. I have many creatures that…"

"Fluttershy, don't try to make the poor filly take one of your animals if she doesn't want it! It's probably wicked exciting enough with the Timberwolves." Rainbow exclaimed.

"Oh my..."

"They're really not that bad." Aura gave Fluttershy an encouraging smile. "We've got it figured out, they don't bother me any more."

"Good. I still think you should have a pet. I have the cuuuuutest little kitten who needs a home…"

"Maybe…" Aura muttered with a half grin.

"What I'm more worried about, darling, is that you haven't been able to take care of your mane or coat out there in the dusty dirty wilds of that horrid forest! How HAVE you managed?" Rarity looked askance at Aura.

"She managed, because there were more important things to worry about. Like, you know, Timberwolves."

The sass emanating from Applejack was almost palpable. Rarity shivered.

"Ugh those horrid creatures. They AHHHHHHHHRRRGGG…" And here she screamed and fell backwards in her chair as Rainbow, who'd snuck up on her unawares, had preformed a creditable Timberwolf howl right in her ear. The whole group of ponies fell into gales of laughter at that, including Aura. She smiled to herself, almost at ease with this group of friends now. Twilight had explained the whole situation to the four unaware parties when they'd arrived at dinner, and the group cheerfully treated her no different than they would any other pony. She twitched her flanks under her saddlebags. Maybe… there was hope after all.

"Twilight! Message from Celestia!" Spike came tearing into Sugarcube Corner, waving a scroll in his claws. Aura sat bolt upright, her entire attention fixed on the letter that could hold so many answers. Or then again it might not be. Maybe even Celestia didn't have a clue and then where would she be? Aura's breath caught in her throat, torn between hope and fear. Rarity scooted all the discarded food to one side as Twilight spread the letter out and all the ponies peered at it.

_My dear Twilight,_

_I am very glad to hear that you have met Aura and are helping her to discover her mark! If Pinkie hadn't brought her to your attention soon, I was going to ask you to go talk to her. As it happens, I am aware of her situation and have a reasonable idea of what is causing her cutie mark distress. Unfortunately, I cannot simply tell you, Aura will still need to discover her gift on her own. One help I can give you: in the castle of the Two Sisters, in the library, there is a book that may help Aura discover herself. Find it, and everything should fall into place for her. I am sure I will hear from you very soon with an answer to her problem._

_Your mentor and friend, Princess Celestia_

"She can't TELL YOU?" Rainbow's voice rose in indignation.

"Hush Rainbow. I'm sure there's a logical reason for it." Twilight admonished her.

"Celestia knows who you are?" Rarity looked deeply surprised.

"Oh I've told Celestia stories of her." Pinkie grinned.

"Hold up, when have you and Princess Celestia had chats?" Rainbow interjected.

"While I was planning Cadence's wedding? Du-uhhhh." Pinkie shot back. "Besides, she sneaks in for a double chocolate fudge bar after hours on occasion at Sugar Cube Corner, we've had some awesome talks before she heads home!" Rainbow caught Twilight's eye and both of them rolled their eyes. Leave it to Pinkie.

"Aura… oh my. Are you alright?" Fluttershy glanced at Aura, who seemed frozen.

"Aura…? AURA!" Pinkie stuck her face right into Aura's, breaking her trance.

"What? Huh? Yes, uh, sorry."

"You alright sugar cube?"

"Am I alright. Am I alright?" Aura glanced around the table with joy echoing through her eyes as she became more and more animated. "She says she KNOWS! Or at least has a guess! I'm not defective after all! There IS a talent for me to find!

…..

In short order after Aura had spoken her joyous words, the girls had decided to get some sleep and then meet up bright and early to head the castle of the two sisters. Nothing Aura said or did managed to dissuade the others from coming, and with Twilight's quiet encouragement she finally accepted their offered help.

"You're not quite used to having friends yet, are you?" Twilight questioned as she, Aura, and Rarity ambled along Ponyville back towards their respective houses. Aura's ears drooped a bit.

"Not really. I've been living completely alone for years now, and before that it wasn't as if I had any friends among the other foals. Ponies are just… too hard to live around."

"They can be cruel…" Twilight looked over at her new friend, "but it's also good to have other ponies to rely on, isn't it?" Aura sighed.

"I think so… give me time Twilight. In the past day my entire world has shifted. I'm still catching up." Twilight smiled her acknowledgement while absentmindedly watching Rarity who was sketching furiously on a notepad suspended in midair.

"Rarity, pole." Without even looking up, Rarity gracefully sidestepped the pole Twilight had spoken of and continued her sketching as though nothing had happened. Twilight rolled her eyes. Artists.

"Twilight." Aura's voice brought her to a halt. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Twilight absently lifted one hoof in the air as she froze, listening.

"I don't hear anything either darling…" Rarity had managed to put aside her sketching long enough to listen as well.

"I swear I just heard someone crying…" Aura strained her ears, flicking them in all directions. Suddenly one stilled and she turned in the direction it had pointed. "Down there!" She immediately turned tail and started trotting down a side street. With a glance between them, Rarity and Twilight followed. Several twists and turns later Rarity finally murmured,

"How on earth did she hear someone so far away, if indeed there is anyone here at all?"

"I wish I knew. But I'm loath to not let her follow when she hears a call, it could be a piece of the puzzle to her cutie mark mystery."

"By hearing someone crying from a mile off?" Rarity indicated with her tone she found that to be highly impossible.

"Who knows. Wait…." Aura had stopped again, and appeared to be listening intently. The same strange shimmer mist, this time taking on a bit of a bright teal tinge, hovered around her horn, and simultaneously a brief glow on her flank illuminated the shadow of a cutie mark before it melted away.

"What WAS that?" Rarity whispered.

"THAT was more proof that she does indeed have magic. But listening? Hearing crying? I don't get it!"

Aura had turned down an alley as they whispered together.

"Neither do I. Should we follow her down that alley do you think?"

"Yes." Twilight muttered grimly. "We shouldn't leave her alone." Both ponies poked their heads into the short alley, and spotted Aura at the end with her hoof wrapped around a tiny gray foal who was crying mournfully. After waiting for his tears to subside into hiccups, she gently asked,

"Now. Can you tell me what's wrong?" The foal gulped.

"They… they stole my book and rubbed dirt all on it and… and…." he gulped again. The mist around Aura's horn intensified.

"…And?"

"And they called me a pansy book worm and said that I'd never be good for anything because my nose is always stuck in a book!" The foal let his head flop down in defeat.

"Well now." Aura spoke in a calm, somewhat lilting tone. "Why would being a bookworm be a bad thing? All the best ponies I know absolutely love books! Even one who considers herself to be the most awesome and daring pony alive." Aura blessed the bit of knowledge she'd gleaned from Pinkie about Rainbow's love of Daring Do.

"Rrr-reeeally?" The foal stuttered between tears as he gazed up at her. She tightened her hug.

"Of course! Being a bookworm just means you live a thousand lives through the characters. You should pity the foals who don't read, they never get that chance." The foal returned her smile with a watery one of his own. "Besides," she continued, "just what do you think our newest princess was before she was a princess?"

The little foal gasped. "She was a bookworm?!" he said incredulously.

"That she was! The biggest that ever lived if Pinkie Pie told me the stories right!"

Hidden in the shadows, Twilight blushed but smiled happily.

"Wowww…." The little foal had stopped crying now and was looking up at Aura in wonder.

"So. If a _princess_ can like books, then why can't you?" Aura grinned playfully at him.

"I guess it is ok after all!" Joy crossed his face for a moment, followed by a flash of sadness. "But… but they still tore up my book."

Rarity, who'd been slowly gaining her night vision, finally spotted a small, rectangular object splayed out by the side of the alley. She walked forward slowly and gently picked up the abused and broken book. Both Aura and the foal turned to look at her.

"Would this be your book little one?" She asked gently.

"That it." The foal muttered dejectedly. "I'll never find out what happens now."

"Nonsense!" Rarity stamped her hoof at glared at him. "This poor book is a little beat up, but there's no reason it shouldn't be…" She trailed off as her own purple magic suspended the book and wove around it in sparkling threads. "There." Rarity gently set the book down in front of the foal, who stared at it in amazement. "Good as new." She proclaimed. And indeed it was, the old copy now looked as though it was fresh off the shelves with every page in place and the spine unbroken. Rarity leaned in and winked at the foal,

"Just so you know, be prepared for chapter 4. It's the best part of the whole book!" The foal picked the book up and looked with unguarded delight at the two mares on either side of him.

"Thank you, oh, thank you so much!" He jumped up, and ran off into a house at the end of the alley, where his cries of delight drifted back to them, exclaiming over the mended book and the knowledge that if Princess Twilight was a bookworm, so surely HE could be one too.

Rarity glanced over, smiling, at Aura, just in time to see the light on her horn dim and vanish. Aura smiled back. "Told you I heard someone."

"Remind me never to doubt you again! But how on earth did you hear him from so far away? We were halfway across town!" Aura plopped back down on the street, looking confused.

"I don't know… I just knew there was someone in distress and I went towards it. I'm not sure now if I audibly heard him or not…"

"That's… odd." Rarity's face took on a half frozen smile. Aura glanced up at her, and sighed.

"No. I can't read minds. That's what you're thinking right?"

"… How… did…" Rarity stuttered.

"I can't read minds, but I'm good at understanding how and what people are probably thinking. You looked exactly like an old school friend did when I was comforting her once and guessed with reasonable accuracy what she was feeling. She at least voiced the concept. We… we weren't friends for long after that. She thought it was too weird."

"I'm sorry." Rarity did look contrite. "The thought did unnerve me, but I am sorry Aura. I shouldn't have let it show. You've done and said nothing that would back that theory up, I had no reason to act on it."

Aura quirked a smile. "Apology accepted. I'm used to ponies thinking I'm strange. Sadly."

Twilight meanwhile, having heard the whole exchange, finally walked up.

"Well first off, that foal lost a very valuable friend. Not everyone can truly understand what another is going through."

"I… thanks Twilight." Aura looked surprised.

"Your story, would you say you guessed what your friend was feeling, or that you knew?" Twilight looked thoughtful.

"Well… I'd say I knew. Not… not specifics. But generally. Like tonight. I knew there was someone…but I don't know _how_ I knew or _how_ heard him! I just knew there was someone somewhere in distress." Aura herself looked to be in distress at that. Twilight put a gentle hoof on her shoulder.

"Aura. Don't be upset. We're just getting closer to finding the answer, that's all."

"How is me hearing or not hearing a foal crying getting closer to the answer?" She cried in frustration.

"Did you realize you had magic about you when you were comforting the foal?" Twilight's statement shocked Aura visibly.

"I… I what?" She asked weakly.

"There was magic around your horn… I thought I'd caught glimpses of it before, but it was definitely there this time. A teal mist was coming from your horn and just kind of hovering there."

"You've seen it before?!" Aura looked up incredulously.

"Well…" hedged Twilight. "I wasn't sure of what I saw. When you greeted Pinkie in the forest I thought I saw a glow around your horn, and possibly again when I was apologizing to you. There was a more pronounced glow or mist when Spike dropped the plates on his head and you were comforting him. I thought I was imagining it, but it was much stronger tonight."

"So my magic does show up sometimes." Aura looked surprised and relieved.

"And…" Rarity looked over at Twilight for confirmation, "your cutie mark doesn't appear to be quite done yet. It sort of… flashed."

"Flashed?" Aura's voice grew hopeful.

"Yes." Twilight mused. "Flashed, but then subsided. Almost as though you were close to your mark, but not quite there yet."

"Perhaps it has something to do with helping sad ponies? Like one of those fancy doctors in Manehattan?" Rarity wondered aloud.

"Do you mean psychiatrists?" Twilight asked her friend.

"Oh yes. Them."

"Well… it would fit… But why would Celestia be concerned about it then? And why hasn't her cutie mark issue been seen before? There are plenty of psychiatrists out there." Twilight puzzled.

"And you said you saw my horn glow when I met Pinkie. That's not helping a sad pony." Aura reminded her friends.

"True… oh dear it was just a thought." Rarity looked a little abashed.

"All thoughts are good Rarity. Well," and Twilight suddenly shifted into business mode, "we're not going to figure anything more out by guessing, and I for one do not want to spend the night in this alley. Let's go home, get some sleep, and go find that book tomorrow. What do you say?" The girls readily agreed, and all trotted off together.

…..

The morning dawned bright and clear, and the seven ponies were in high spirits as they approached the forest.

"Oooo Aura I'll bet you have the prettiest cutie mark ever since you had to wait so long for it! Maybe it will glitter. Or be metallic! Are there metallic cutie marks? Oh who cares you'd probably get one if anyone did!" Pinkie chattered like an energizer bunny on speed. Aura, clearly used to her friend's antics, just rolled her eyes cheerfully. She seemed in much higher spirits than when Twilight had first met her the day before, but Twilight wasn't surprised in the slightest. Her new friend finally had hope, and the effects were showing.

"Here we go!" Rainbow called as she swooped into the darkening tree line. The rest of the ponies followed with cheerful abandon and Aura made to follow them… until she pulled up short. Twilight turned around in time to see her stiffen, and shudder.

"Aura?" At Twilight's question, she unfroze, and minced forward slowly.

"Sorry Twilight."

"What was that?"

"I… I don't know. Something… like a shadow. Or a presence. I… there's something black in here."

"Don't worry yourself darlin', sure there are a passel of odd creatures in these here woods, but we've got them outnumbered and definitely out magicked." AJ winked at her as she trotted forward to catch up with Rainbow.

"But you've lived in these woods, you already knew that much." Fluttershy quietly interjected, looking up at her new friend. Aura nodded.

"There are plenty of things in these woods, and I'm used to most. This… come to think of it I've felt this once or twice before, but it's always skirted away within moments and vanished. It's… sinister. And seeking."

"How did you know it was seeking? Can you understand animals like I can?" Fluttershy hovered in her excitement.

"No…" Aura hesitated. "I just know. Whatever it was, it's not good." Fluttershy dropped back to the ground with a dejected look.

"Hmm…." Twilight regarded Aura with a look of contemplation. "Your mystery just gets deeper and deeper doesn't it."

"Welcome to my life" Aura muttered dryly. The friends continued on down the dark paths, taking a seemingly mindless way through the forest and only just being able to keep AJ and Dash in sight, as those two seemed to think it was a race. Aura kept up, though she cringed a couple more times in the course of the walk. Fluttershy and Twilight were both keeping a worried eye on their new friend, but she seemed to suffer no other ill effects. Finally, the three entered a clearing where Applejack and Rainbow Dash were in the middle of a spectacular argument, aided by an annoyed Rarity, and the irrepressible Pinkie kept zooming all over the clearing for the fun of it. Unseen, Aura checked her step at the edge of the clearing, cringing slightly.

"It is NOT that way Rainbow Dash." Applejack was contesting heatedly. "I've got heaps more sense than you do when it comes to the forest and there is just no way in Equestria the castle is THAT way."

"Stop being such a stick in the mud Applejack. I can guarantee you it's THAT way, and all I've gotta do to prove it is fly up to the treetops and have a good look around."

"Wooooah nellie. Don't you dare. You don't know what's up there."

"What are you scared of, butterflies?"

"You don't know WHAT'S up there, Rainbow. And I'm not counting on Fluttershy to come save you. No offense hun…" Applejack turned away from verbally battling Rainbow with a kind look and nod towards Fluttershy. Rainbow crossed her front legs.

"Twilight has wings. Duhhhhhh."

"And I," broke in Twilight, "would prefer not to get into any situation where I have to risk them to save your sorry self just because you wanted to be right!"

"Girls…" Aura began, timidly.

"I do not WANT to be right, I AM right." Rainbow retorted. Rarity had been rolling her eyes in a spectacular manner the entire duration of the argument, and decided now would be a fine time to add her two bits.

"Oh you can all hold off it. I'll just use my gem-finding spell and head for the biggest source. That will surely lead us to the castle."

"Except…" Fluttershy interjected, "there aren't any gems there anymore. We didn't see any when we were helping clean the place out."

"Maybe we could…" Aura faintly tried again.

"Well do you have a better idea on how to find it then?" Rarity retorted. Twilight sighed, clearly exasperated.

"Pinkie, any ideas? I don't recognize this part of the forest."

"Do you think fish are ever sad that they can't drink tea?" Pinkie bounced past them. All five of the others threw back their heads and growled in annoyance.

"Pinkie could you be serious for once in your life? We have a real problem here!" Rainbow hollered after her.

"Please girls…" Aura's quiet plea went again unnoticed.

"Fluttershy could you ask your animal friends to look for a way to the castle?" Applejack asked in frustration.

"I am NOT sending my adorable creature friends on a wild goose chase through the most dangerous forest in Equestria." Fluttershy glared repressively at Applejack.

"Well then how in the hay are we supposed to find the castle?" Applejack shouted.

"Just let me fly up there!" Rainbow pleaded, annoyed.

"NO RAINBOW." A chorus responded.

"GIRLS!" All six turned around at Aura's anguished shout, and beheld their new friend slumped on the grass with her hooves pressed to her head in a way that denoted a terrible headache. "Just… stop. Stop the arguing. Please." She squeezed her eyes shut as she spoke.

"Oh dear…. Aura dear, did our arguing give you a headache?" Rarity stepped forward compassionately as the others shot worried looks at each other. Aura groaned.

"Yes… all the yelling and anger and frustration… please calm down… I don't think I can take much more of this." A tear rolled down her cheek as she spoke. Almost instantly Pinkie was down in front of her licking her tear away with a dopey expression, and Twilight had pressed herself close to Aura's side. Pinkie's antics elicited a small giggle from Aura, which, in combination with the evident love and concern of the two friends beside her, slowly eased her headache away. Another moment and the headache was well and truly passed, and Aura accepted Pinkie's hoof to help her stand up.

"You know we weren't actually upset with one another, right sugar cube?" Applejack had moved forward. "Sure we were, ah, frustrated with the situation we're in, but we were just taking that frustration out on the others, we weren't actually mad."

"I know." Aura shuffled a little with her head hanging low. "I could tell." Twilight looked inquisitively at her. "But it was still a huge amount of emotions, negative emotions, swirling around and, well, I'm just not used to that… and I can't deal with it." She looked even more upset with herself.

"Can't deal with it, or haven't had to because you were living in the forest for so long?" Twilight questioned.

"Can't. Even when my parents would argue, I couldn't deal with it."

"What would happen?" Fluttershy asked gently. By now everyone's curiosity was raised.

"I'd get just as upset as they were, even more sometimes… even if it didn't involve me. And I'd end up yelling at them anyway and getting in even more of an argument. Or I'd run to my room and cry because it was all too much and too overwhelming."

"Innnnteresting." Pinkie said quietly.

"Very interesting." Twilight murmured thoughtfully. "And yet, what talent would that be, really?"

"I'm probably just overly sensitive." Aura muttered glumly.

"With an unknown cutie mark?" Rainbow jumped in. "Get real Aur. It's gotta be a clue somehow." Aura shot her a small grin.

"Thanks Rainbow."

"We're still stuck." Applejack took the opportunity to point out the obvious.

"Wait! I DO know a spell for this!" Twilight looked triumphant. "It's a version of the 4-point spell, which usually points your object north, but in this case you can vary it to point to a location if you're thinking hard enough about it and it wants to be found."

"And it WANTS to be found?" Rainbow interjected indignantly.

"Of course there are concealment spells." Rarity tossed her mane. "So if the location you're trying to find has a secrecy spell on it, you won't be able to find it."

"Exactly." Twilight concentrated a moment, and a stick at her feet swung to their right and up a path.

"Fortunately, the castle has no such spell, so we're in luck! This way girls!" The argument all but forgotten by everyone except Aura, the group trooped off into the forest, following Twilight's lit horn. Aura hesitated before following them, glancing up at the sky and quivering for a moment, before trotting fast to catch up with the others.

…..

"Is it just me, or does this place get eerier every time we set hoof into it?" AJ looked around slightly nervously.

"It's not any different than the last few times we were here, with the exception of the fact that we know everyone IS here this time." Twilight stated calmly, her footsteps echoing in an odd cadence with the others as they entered the ruins. Clouds had begun to pile up in the northern sky, and their deep gloom was doing nothing to improve the mood of the blast-marked walls.

"Twilight, are you SURE I can't show Aura the organ?!" Pinkie pleaded.

"NO PINKIE." A chorus responded.

Aura giggled. "Pink, you can show me another time, alright?"

"I'm holding you to thaaaaat!" Pinkie sang, bouncing along.

The ruined stone and battered decor seemed to march on forever like some ghostly scene out of a horror story. Aura twitched in unease. Truth be told, those clouds didn't look natural to her, and the shadow feeling had been growing stronger the past hour or so. She desperately hoped her senses were wrong this time.

"I do not want the pain of having led these mares into danger just on my account," she muttered fiercely, trotting for a moment to catch up with the others. Twilight was in the lead, using her horn to light the way, and muttering directions under her breath.

"Two lefts, second right, third door on the…. ahhh, here it is!" The group filed into the huge and ghostly library.

"How _do_ these book stay intact?" Rarity muttered.

"Magic. Duh." Rainbow shot back. "So Twi, did Celestia give us any sort of indication of what type of book we're looking for?"

"No, she didn't. But I would assume it would be either something to do with magic, or history."

"Huzzah. We ruled out novels." Rainbow rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Actually we ruled out fiction, mechanics, pegasi and earth pony history, math, sports…" Twilight happily recounted.

"We get it, we get it!" Rainbow winged over to a shelf. "Well, let's get going girls!" She grabbed a dusty book and began leafing through it. The other ponies began doing the same, and soon the thuds of discarded books hitting the floor became a regular sound. The sound of false hope was also a routine sound.

"Oooo here's something!" Fluttershy cried. "There was a unicorn almost 400 years ago that was really good at figuring out what people were feeling… ah… no. He got his cutie mark very young. He was a doctor."

"Try this one on for size." AJ hollered from several rows over. "There was a pony that _never_ got his mark no matter what he did… oh never mind. He did get it eventually, but it came all at once. His talent was being good at everything. Is that a talent?"

"That is so NOT a talent." Rainbow called from the top of a shelf.

"To each his or her own Rainbow. And Jack-of-all-Trades ponies are very rare and highly esteemed!" Twilight barely looked up from where she was perched on an ever-growing pile of books.

"Should I even ask why you know that?" Rainbow shot back.

"Yes. I read more than Daring Do novels." Twilight winked to take the sting out of her words, and Rainbow cracked up.

Aura glanced up, her skin prickling ominously despite the levity around her. The sky had become a rich midnight blue, almost black, and the clouds appeared to be boiling. She instinctively, and without knowing why, felt for the flavor of the storm, and was rewarded by an explosion of deep malice like she'd ever experienced before.

"Girls…" Her shaky voice called all attention to her. "Should we be worried about those?" She pointed at the ominous clouds.

"They do look scary don't they." Fluttershy took one look at them and began backing away.

"They don't look natur'l, that's for sure." AJ commented, coming over to the others. Even Rainbow winged down next to Rarity, who had moved the book suspended by magic away from her face to peer closely at the clouds.

"Ugh, horrid things." She commented blandly.

Pinkie started twitching.

"Pinkie? What is it? What's coming?" Rainbow asked nervously.

"Iiiiiii donnnnnttttt knooowwwwwww," Pinkie was vibrating around the room as she spoke. "Iiiiii've neeeevvvver gottttten thissss commmmbination beeeeefore!"

"Pinkie sense?" Aura looked at Rainbow for confirmation.

"Yup. But I'm not thrilled that she doesn't know this one."

"It's never good when she doesn't know one." Twilight looked up at the sky as she spoke, concerned.

"Does… does anyone else think those clouds look… familiar?" Fluttershy stammered.

"Familiar?" Rarity gave her a look. "Now that you mention it… they do. But from where?"

Applejack's ears laid flat and she stepped backwards instinctively. "Well I'll be… they look like the same clouds from the Crystal Empire when Sombra attacked."

"But that CAN'T be. He's gone!" Rainbow looked panicked now.

Before anyone could draw a breath more, a terrifying, omniscient, booming voice shook the very stones they were standing on.

"Gone? GONE? You stupid ponies really thought you could get rid of ME that easily? Pah. I laugh at your stupidity."

The girls jumped into one terrified clump as the voice thundered out of the clouds. Two eyes suddenly appeared in the blackest strip, glowing a brilliant green that pierced the girls with their stare.

"Ohhh yes. Do pull together into a ball. I really only wanted one of you, but I'll happily take the lot if I must." It drawled in mild amusement.

Aura stared straight back at those eerie green eyes. Every fiber of her being told her to run before it was too late, but she couldn't. She'd led them into this. If it hadn't been for her stupid cutie mark, they'd all be safe at home right now. Pinkie trembled next to her, and the action somehow gave her courage. Aura put one trembling hoof down at a time, and stepped out of the pack to glare the eyes down.

"Who do you want? I can guarantee even if you answer honestly, you're not getting a single one of us." She felt the others pull out of their fear with her words and range themselves behind her.

"Why," the voice paused dramatically, "you." Aura narrowed her eyes at the sky, ignoring the intake of breath behind her. Well. Better her than them.

"Well you're not getting her!" Rainbow shouted, and stepped forward next to Aura. "I don't care who you are, you big fat ugly nebulous…."

"RAINBOW. That's not helping." Twilight had stepped forward to range around Aura, as had the others.

"WHY." Aura's voice cracked on the question, but her gaze met the eyes quite steadily. A booming laugh that seemed to shake the foundations of the castle answered her.

"Oh it's so delightful that you don't know." It chortled.

"Sombra, this is useless. We'll just defeat you. Again." Twilight stated calmly. The green eyes switched from Aura to Twilight, and narrowed.

"Ahhhhh my sweet little filly." The voice was smooth as silk as a tendril of cloud came racing out and caressed Twilight's cheek. "You've become a princess since last we met, I see. I congratulate you. But I see for all your knowledge and… _friendship_ ," the voice became icy on the word, "you are still lacking."

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked curtly, smacking away the cloud with a wisp of magic.

"I am not, as you call me, Sombra."

"Then who are you?" Aura angrily spat at the clouds. The sky laughed eerily again as the eyes returned to staring Aura down.

"My name is irrelevant. However, in answer to your real question, I am what you could be, Aura Skies."

"Talk sense." Aura seethed. Sparks shot from her horn as she spoke.

"Now where would the fun be in that? I will tell you that I am enjoying your spirit, blank flank. Such fire in your eyes."

"What does my flank have to do with this?" Aura spat.

"No cutie mark." The sky voice said in a lilting tone, which sent chills through everyone's spine. "How fortuitous, I had hoped as much. You yet are unaware of what you are. It will make this all the easier." The voice paused, and became business like as the green eyes narrowed intensely. "Hear me once, and only once Aura Skies. You can greet me as an equal and take all that I can offer you, or you can be dragged into this kicking and screaming. Either way, I will have you."

"I don't want anything you have to offer, cloud face!" She hollered to the skies.

"Don't you?" The other ponies standing behind her seemed forgotten as the voice concentrated on her, and her alone. "Don't you want… _friends_ … Aura? Don't you want to feel like you… _belong_?" The voice was silky sweet now.

"I… I… of course I do! Doesn't every pony?" Aura faltered.

"Ahhhhhhh… but you misunderstand me my dear. I could guarantee you that feeling. I can guarantee you all the feelings your heart wishes."

"I… well…." Aura hesitated, confused. A thick wall of mist seemed to be separating her from the others, so only her and the voice remained. As real as the girls behind the wall were, as real as their friendship over the past day had been, it wasn't enough to erase the memories of a lifetime alone. It was on those long and lonely years her mind now forcibly dwelled.

"Come to meeee…" the voice cajoled. "You will never be lonely again." A cloud tendril came towards her. "Come with me, and we will…."

"NO AURA!" The voice seemed to call her back to the earth. Aura's trance was broken, and she looked around frantically for Pinkie, for it was Pinkie who called, but could see nothing in the swirling mist.

"Pinkie?! Where are you?"

"We're… over…. here!" Pinkie's voice came as though from a distance, directly behind her. "Don't do whatever he's telling you to Aura!"

"Yeah, don't give in!" Rainbow's voice joined in.

"We're here for yah sugar cube!" AJ hollered.

"We all are." Twilight's voice was calm, and determined.

Aura closed her eyes. She could clearly hear the others behind her, whispering.

"What exactly do you intend to do, Twilight?" Rarity asked.

"The elements." Twilight was cold as ice as she spoke.

"But… we don't have the elements anymore…" Fluttershy interjected.

Aura sensed rather than heard the deflation of spirits behind her, especially of Twilight's, as the mare was not yet used to the loss of their greatest weapon and had forgotten for a moment that it was no longer theirs to wield. She felt the sizzle of magic beams shot in desperation from Twilight and Rarity as they fizzled to nothing on the enclosing mist. She felt Rainbow and AJ ramming the mist wall to no avail. She felt Fluttershy quivering in fear as Pinkie kept running headlong into the mist and bouncing back without making a dent. She felt all of them; their longing, their frustration, their fear, their friendship, and most of all… Her eyes snapped open and a spark shone in their depths.

"Wellll?" Drawled the voice, with a touch of impatience.

"I already have friends." Aura advanced on the cloud, her voice cold, but heart glowing. "And you," anger now surged to the forefront of her voice as glints and glitters of magic began solidifying around her horn. "You come in here telling me I can have all I ever wanted with YOU? No. I have all I've ever wanted. And they are right behind me. And YOU, you foul creature, are no match for THEM." Bright teal magic was now swirling around her horn wildly.

Laughter pealed from the clouds. "Oh very ringing Aura. You should go out for politics. You seem especially good at conveying lies in the form of truth." The voice grew deadly and icy quiet. "They cannot save you. Their magic is useless without the elements."

"False." Aura stated.

"Oh really?" The voice sounded taken aback.

"Yes. Because you're wrong. They aren't useless without their elements, they ARE their elements." And in that moment, she saw everything clearly. Magic surging within her, she felt backwards through the mist for her friends. Six beams of white magic shot backward from her horn, connected with, and engulfed, their respective ponies. The six on the other side of the mist stared at each other, struck dumb. They found themselves suspended in midair as they usually were when using the elements, the pulsing aura of their respective elements surrounding them in colorful waves.

"What…. what is…" Rarity stuttered.

"How is this even possible? We don't HAVE the Elements anymore!" Rainbow shouted, mystified.

Twilight stared wildly at the others, trying to understand what was happening. Pinkie, who had a look of intense concentration on her, seemed to light up with joy, and suddenly was concentrating harder than ever as the blue waves around her were channeled down the beam connected to the out of sight Aura. A surge of white from their own beams answered her action.

"DO WHAT PINKIE DID!" Aura's voice seemed to echo inside their minds and they started in amazement. "THINK OF YOUR ELEMENTS AND NOTHING BUT THEM! THEY LIVE INSIDE YOU, FEEL FOR THEM! IT'S OUR ONLY HOPE!" With stunned faces, the other five hesitated only briefly, before concentrating every fiber of their being on their elements.

Slowly, but one after the other, the six beams took on the color of their respective element and shot out of the mist to hover by Aura. As the final beam joined her, Aura's face turned from a mask of painful concentration to an eruption of joy.

The cloud now faced a mare whose horn was lit up brilliantly in pure white magic, and whose eyes were now starting to glow and drip magic as well. It started backwards for a moment.

"YOU." Aura's voice was steadfast and courageous now. "CANNOT." The beams started to move together behind her. "HAVE." The beams merged and started glowing with brilliant intensity. "US!"

And at that, Aura was lifted off the ground as the spell reached its crucial point, her eyes fully ablaze with white-hot light. The rainbow behind her arched over her body and slammed with unerring precision and tremendous force into the cloud. It widened to catch every single bit of the ominous presence, evaporating the clouds on contact and thundering with ear splitting intensity.

"THIS ISN'T OVER AURHHHHGGGHHHHhhhhhh...!" The voice shouted in agony as the clouds were stripped away, vanishing in a wave of rainbow that crackled with white fire. In a second, an instant later, the clouds had vanished utterly. A dark ball of green fire at the very heart of the clouds resisted for a split second longer, and a single vision of a dark shape with ice blue eyes that were piercing her heart with pain and longing and sorrow, lit up before Aura's eyes… and vanished. The earth spun as the roar of thunder echoed over the forest. Then all went dark.

…..

"Aura? AURA?! Please Aura, answer me!" Pinkie's face was inches from her friend's. Aura lay, sprawled and unresponsive, with mane and tail askew, on the dark stone floor. Every few heartbeats she'd twitch violently, and beneath the closed lids, her eyes still gleamed white hot with magic.

"What… what's wrong with her?" AJ whispered. Twilight had joined Pinkie at Aura's side, and was gently running a beam of magic down her shaking frame. Twilight's eyes widened suddenly and she stepped backwards, clearly frightened.

"Magic overload. It happens when an untrained unicorn tries to do too much magic too quickly. Usually you see it in very young unicorns, but this… This is the worst case I've ever seen. And unless we stop it, the magic will run rampant inside of her, it could eat her up!"

"Then stop it!" Rainbow yelled hysterically. Twilight screwed up her face and concentrated hard on the recumbent Aura. The spell seemed to engulf the golden mare for a moment, and then rebounded with a flash, which caused the girls to duck out of the way.

"I can't!" Twilight shouted back in anguish. "It's too strong! I don't know… oh if only Spike were here, we need Princess Celestia right now! My magic isn't strong enough, but maybe her's..." A blinding flash of white light accompanied her words, and the girls all bowed as the light resolved itself into their beloved Princess's form.

"Fortunately," Celestia said calmly, "I am here." She stepped quickly to Aura, and then sank down in front of the mare so their horns were touching. A gentle, pulsing light came from Celestia's horn and engulfed Aura, who gradually stopped twitching, and the white-hot light in her eyes slowly dimmed as well. With one final pulse, the light vanished completely, and Aura's eyes struggled to open.

"… Twi… Pink… girls… what…. is everyone… what…?" Aura's voice shook and her thoughts didn't seem to be fully coherent just yet.

"Shhhhh… take a moment my dear." Celestia said gently. Her horn had not stopped touching Aura's yet, and another healing gleam of light passed over Aura's body. Aura blinked again, this time more surely. She slowly raised her head, and her eyes finally focused on the alicorn in front of her.

"Princess!" Aura's eyes grew wide and she struggled to get up.

"No you don't." Celestia gently pushed Aura back down with one wing. "Never mind the pleasantries my dear, you shouldn't be standing just yet."

"I…" Aura looked bewildered, and glanced over at the others. "You're ok! But what… what happened?" She looked up beseechingly at Celestia. "And why are you…"

"Here?" Celestia's voice held a note of amusement. "We'll get to that. But in the mean time, I was hoping you could tell us what happened. I missed most of the fun I see, and your friends look rather dazed as well. Take your time." She smiled as Aura hesitated, trying to make sense of what had occurred.

"Princess, if it's all the same to you, we could give you the details." Twilight volunteered.

"Thank you for the offer Twilight, but Aura needs to make sense of it herself. Trust me." Celestia smiled warmly at Twilight before looking back at Aura. "Go on."

"Well…" Aura's eyes focused off on the distance, "those clouds. They'd been building all day. There was something… eerie about them. Not natural. I didn't trust them at all."

"You were right about that." Rarity inserted. Aura shot her friend a glimmer of a smile.

"We all finally noticed the clouds right before this ominous voice suddenly thundered out of them. He, at least I think it was a he, said he wanted," here she hesitated. "Me." She shivered.

"Did he say why?" Celestia asked, quietly. Aura thought.

"No. He did say he was what I could be."

"Like you'd ever turn into that monster." Pinkie snorted indignantly.

"Ponies have become worse for reasons only known to them." Twilight said softly, thinking of Luna. Celestia caught her eyes in understanding.

"Then what happened?" Celestia probed gently. Aura was struggling to recall the exact events.

"Then he… he was trying to talk me into coming with him, trying to convince me that he could offer me all I'd ever wanted. He… he'd cut me off from the others somehow. If it hadn't been for Pinkie's shout, I might have been lost." Aura surveyed her old friend with warmth. "Then… it was like Pinkie's shout opened up a channel. The girls were still hidden, but I could _feel_ them, each of them, unique and glowing through the mist. But more than that, I could feel their elements shining within each personality. And… I don't know how… I reached backwards and latched onto that. Because I knew if they could concentrate on the elements within them, I could channel that against the evil in front of us."

The girl's jaws were hanging slack at this, though Celestia was smiling as though she'd anticipated every word. "And it worked?" Aura nodded.

"They were there, the elements I mean, and I suddenly just, _knew_ , how to weave them together and let their force finish off whatever that was. I… I wasn't even consciously thinking. I just… did. Did I… did I do right?" Aura looked fearfully into Celestia's face. Celestia's smile widened.

"I think, my dear, that there is something you need to turn around and see that will answer that question for you." And with her wing, she nudged aside Aura's tail from where it had lain sprawled on her flank. A gasp went up from the other ponies.

"Well I'll be." Murmured AJ. A muffled muttering made her suspect that Pinkie was trying to comment though a hoof stuffed in her mouth. Slowly, Aura turned and looked behind herself. And she stopped breathing for a moment.

There, shining as clearly as sunlight on water, shone her cutie mark. No longer a dim shadow, the golden heart was now ringed by a brilliant band of rainbow that ended in little dips and points, as though it was the glimmer of fire. Outside of the rainbow in a circle around it, sat eight bright white points alternating big and small, like the sparkle of a star. Aura stared at it without speaking, in rapturous joy. Her face clouded suddenly though, as she turned back to Celestia.

"But what… I still don't know what it means!" She pleaded, eyes wide. Celestia laughed.

"It means, you are what I suspected you are. You are of a noble line and race, Aura Skies. You are," Celestia paused for a moment, "an empath."

"A what now?" Pinkie queried.

"I've never even heard of that." Rarity said thoughtfully. Fluttershy blinked in confusion while Rainbow raised an eyebrow and AJ seemed to ponder the word. Only Twilight understood, and her eyes went wide.

"Of course!" Twilight enthused. "Oh Aura, I can't believe I didn't see it before! But," she looked at Celestia for confirmation, "there hasn't been one in ages, has there?"

"No indeed there has not been. The last one was recorded over 1000 years ago, I'd begun to think another might not appear."

"But, what AM I? Aura still looked stricken. Celestia chuckled again.

"It is rather obscure, I am not surprised you don't know what it is. An empath is one who is especially skilled in the gift of empathy, or more directly, the gift of understanding and resonating with other ponies feelings and emotions. Compassion, by comparison, is feeling _for_ someone, but empathy is truly _feeling_ what they are experiencing, and sharing in it." Aura's mouth hung open as she processed what Celestia was saying.

"That… fits." Aura murmured.

"It does more than fit! Don't you see?" Twilight was pacing around intently. "When you saw Pinkie in the forest the first time I met you, you were reacting to her _joy_. And when I was apologizing to you, you said you _knew_ I really meant it. And then when Spike dropped the plates on his head, you were trying to stop his pain because you could _feel_ it. And when…"

"And when you raced off to that foal," Rarity interjected, "You said you didn't audibly hear it. You were following the feelings of that poor scrap."

Aura was still looking stunned.

"And we were arguing in the forest," AJ jumped in, "you said you could tell we weren't mad at each other, but that the _emotions_ were too strong for you to handle. Like you had to feel them, you had no choice!"

"And you were worried about those clouds LONG before we ever were. You _knew_ something, didn't you!" Rainbow proclaimed.

Aura blinked up at them, the wheels in her mind clearly turning fast to try and keep up.

"It explains why I thought you had my gift." Fluttershy said gently. "Because I can understand animals, and I'm guessing that's a specific form or variant of empathy."

"You would be correct with that guess, Fluttershy." Celestia said, an amused smile playing at her lips.

"And when my old friend thought I could mind read because I guessed at her feelings so accurately," Aura finally said slowly, "I guessed because I _knew_. I could feel the exact, the exact _flavor_ of what she was feeling." She turned wondering eyes on Celestia. "It really does explain everything!"

Celestia chuckled.

"But, you said I'm not alone? There are more of me?" There was a definite note of excitement beginning to creep into Aura's voice.

"Oh indeed! Or should I say, there were more of you. I believe you are the sixth recorded pony whose talent was truly empathy. There are many, like Fluttershy, whose talents encompass various aspects of empathy, or empathy in a very specific form. But a true empath is very rare indeed."

"Why, that makes you almost as special as Twilight here!" AJ said, grinning. Twilight blushed.

"You are fairly correct Applejack." Celestia acknowledged. "Both talents, magic and empathy, are rather rare in their pure form. I am honored and excited that we have both walking among us right now." She bowed her head deeply in both Twilight's and Aura's directions. She then looked curiously at Pinkie. "But what is keeping our usually irrepressible mare silent?"

Pinkie pulled her hoof out of her mouth. "That. Is the. COOLEST CUTIE MARK EVER!" She finally burst out. Everyone began laughing until the walls rang with the sound.

Aura still wore a thoughtful look.

"I was somewhat aware that I tended to be overemotional, especially when the emotions of others were running high. Is that why the mark only faintly appeared? Because I didn't fully understand it?"

"Indeed it is!" Celestia looked pleased. "It's quite normal for empaths to have a watermarked cutie mark for ages until they discover their talent."

Without warning, a glowing ball appeared at Aura's hooves, startling her so much that she almost stood up.

"What is…" Her voice trailed off uselessly as the light became brighter and brighter, and in a flash subsided, leaving behind a battered old leather-bound tome in its place. The girls stared at it, incredulously.

"What IS that?" Rarity queried.

"It smells old." Pinkie stated, sniffing it cautiously.

"Do I dare touch it?" Aura looked down at the book hesitantly, and then stared more intently. "No… It feels… friendly? How is a book friendly?" Confusion colored her words.

Celestia gave a merry laugh and then leaned down to speak to the book. "So there you are! Had to wait for her to fully understand it, did you?"

"HUH?!" A chorus issued from the girls.

"That book," Celestia explained, "Is what I sent you here to find. Open it, Aura. It will not harm you. It's quite safe." Aura did as she was bidden, and as she leafed through it's pages her eyes grew wider and wider.

"What is it?" Fluttershy asked quietly.

"It's a journal of sorts." Aura said breathlessly. "More like a history book in journal form, but it seems to have been written by other empaths about what happened to them during their lives." Her eyes were huge by this point.

"Every empath since my reign began has written in that book, Aura." Celestia informed her. "The book is enchanted so that when an empath dies, the book returns here, to the library, to await its next owner. Sometimes the next empath discovers his or her gift on their own, and the book will appear to them at that point. Sometimes the next empath is just as confused as you were, and I will end up sending them here to find it so that they can read and understand themselves. The news of a grown unicorn with a faint cutie mark inevitably reaches my ears, and by now I have learned what they are and how to help them. Your friend Pinkie here tipped me off to you a while ago."

"Told you." Pinkie glared at Rainbow, who looked slightly sheepish.

Aura's eyes were shining as she flipped through the book. Suddenly, she yelped, "Look!" and pointed.

At the beginning of a different set of hoofwriting, there was a mark of what looked like a ying-yang symbol, surrounded by the same rainbow fire as her own mark. "I wonder…" she whispered, and flipped the book until the hoofwriting changed again. There, at the top of that page, was another mark. This time five teardrops pointed inward to form a circle, and the rainbow fire engulfed them as it had the ying-yang and her own heart. She flipped again. This time, a delicate flower was encircled in the rainbow fire. Aura looked up at Celestia.

"It's the mark of an empath, isn't it?" She asked. "The rainbow encircling a simple mark?"

"It is indeed. Every mark is different, and in the end the simple mark usually coincides with a part of that pony's story. But every empath has always had the honor of a true prismatic rainbow cutie mark. No other pony is granted those."

"I TOLD you you'd get the coolest mark ever!" Pinkie bounced enthusiastically.

Aura kept flipping pages until she came to a place where the hoofwriting abruptly vanished, and then a slow and beautiful smile spread over her face. There was her own mark, rendered beautifully at the top of the blank page. She glanced up at Celestia.

"I am guessing what happened today should probably be the first entry?"

"I think that would be wise. The empaths have used this book as a log so future empaths can learn from their successes and failures. Nothing is too small to put in here, Aura."

"I'll bear that in mind." Aura said thoughtfully. "Princess," she hesitated for a moment, "If I might ask, what do I do now?" Celestia looked back, faintly amused.

"As in?" She prompted.

"Well…" Aura said, haltingly, "What exactly do I do with this talent? It's proved more than useful, but I don't know where to go with it. Especially when I barely understand it myself, even with this book." She broke off at Celestia's smile.

"Now that I can answer. As much as it pains me to pull you away from your new friends, I am going to have to ask you to leave them." A cry of indignation rose from the other girls, including Pinkie standing directly over Aura and growling at Celestia. "AND…" Celestia waited for quiet. "Once you've recovered your strength, I would like you to go to the Crystal Empire and study with Princess Cadence." Shocked silence met her words.

"But… but why?" Asked a distraught Aura. Celestia gently put out a wing towards her.

"Don't be afraid. It's not to get rid of you or anything of the sort." Celestia winked at Aura who blushed. "I have a bit of empathy myself and could see that in your face m'dear." Celestia said kindly. "Cadence's talent is love. Love and empathy are very closely interwoven, if there is anyone in Equestria who could help you learn how, why, and when to use your gift, it's Cadence. I hate to split you from these girls, but I believe it is essential to you learning more about yourself to go and learn from Cadence."

"Well…" Aura said slowly.

"If I could lose you to anyone, I'd choose Cadence." Twilight said softly, and then smiled. "Actually, Celestia is right. She's the only other unicorn or alicorn I know of whose magic stems from an emotional source. Though I suppose Discord comes close, but that's different."

"Discord would also be an interesting being to learn from as well, but I'm not sure Aura is quite ready for his brand of, shall we say, humor."

"No I think not." Fluttershy said calmly. "Perhaps some day though, you can come over for one of our tea dates!"

"I'd like that." Aura said softly.

"Besides," Twilight continued as though the secondary conversation hadn't happened, "Cadence is basically the best pony ever."

"Prejudiced much there, sister-in-law?" AJ teased. Aura's eyes widened.

"Aww shoot. Forgot you'd been hiding in the forest for a spell there sugar cube. Twi's brother married Princess Cadence a number of moons ago." AJ said with a grin.

"Indeed he did." Twilight said smiling in remembrance.

"Wow, Pinkie didn't mention that bit!" Aura breathed. Twilight mock glared at her.

"Aura Skies, injured or not I will hit you if you continue to look at me like a pony with two heads." She said tartly. Aura giggled.

"Sorry." Aura made a shaky attempt to get up, and while she succeeded, she swayed ominously on her hooves.

"Now that doesn't look smart at all, Aura dear. Hold on. I think I saw a cart somewhere in this ruin…" Rarity's voice trailed off as she trotted off.

"I am NOT riding back to Ponyville in a cart!" Aura managed to yell weakly after her. "I do have SOME pride you know." She muttered.

"Planning to what, fly?" Taunted Rainbow, who, with a Pinkie-like sense of foresight had placed herself in just the right position to support Aura when she lost her balance.

"I believe Rainbow is right on this occasion." Celestia said calmly, though her eyes were sparkling with laughter. "You really need to rest for a few days, and you must not try any magic for a few days either. That was an incredible spell you performed with no training today, we don't want to overtax your system."

"That could happen?" Aura looked at her, worried.

"Not if you don't try anything for a few days." Twilight answered. "Just lay low, and leave the saving to some other pony for a few days." They all started laughing, Pinkie managing to snort some confetti as she giggled.

"Speaking of saving…" Twilight turned thoughtfully to Celestia. "How _did_ you know to come out here?"

"Spike had warned me of your journey this morning, he seemed to think it couldn't end well. I've also had Discord on the alert for any changes or surges in the magic of Equestria for a long time now."

"HUH?!" The chorus resounded. Celestia merely chuckled.

"Discord can sense magical disturbances. I've had a nagging feeling something might happen for a while now, so I've had him on the alert. When he came running to me with news of a surge so strong he was almost knocked out for a moment, I decided to waste no time in discovering it's origin, especially since it came from the same area where I knew you seven had set out for."

"I almost knocked him out?" Aura looked stunned.

"Indeed you did." Celestia smiled.

"Pity you didn't actually knock him out." AJ muttered.

"He's reformed, thank you very much." Fluttershy said primly.

"Doesn't mean I don't still owe him a few licks from the first time we met." AJ threw back with a hint of malice in her grin.

"I almost knocked him OUT?" Aura was still stuck on that fact.

"You channeled the Elements of Harmony." Twilight stated kindly. "That's powerful magic, and we've all seen what happens when they're activated. I'm not really surprised you almost knocked him out, I'm always surprised when we're not knocked unconscious after using them!"

"Hear hear!" Rarity added, trotting back into view at that moment with a small cart trailing her. Aura, despite the ominous wobble in her legs, gave it a look of grave distaste.

"I think it would be best to listen to the wisdom of your friends, no matter how much it goes against your nature." Celestia whispered in Aura's ear. Aura blushed briefly, and then smiled.

"I do have friends now, don't I." She murmured softly to herself. Her smile turned downward at the next thought. "But right after I've gained them, I have to lose them." She watched the bickering and bantering ponies with tears welling up in her eyes.

"You'll never lose us." Twilight said quietly, appearing at her side. Aura looked at her in disbelief. Twilight smiled. "We may not be together, but we'll always be with you in your heart. You've learned more in the past day about true friendship than some ponies do in a lifetime. The mark you earned today will never fade, and will stay with you as a reminder of us. We'll always be close to you in that way."

The two nuzzled happily for a moment.

Afterwards, Aura was made comfortable on the cart (and it must be said she was glad to lie down by then), and the girls trotted back off through the forest to Ponyville, laughing and shouting the whole way. Celestia smiled as she watched them go, before daintily catching a breeze and winging back to Canterlot. Luna, standing watch on the tower, hailed her as she approached.

"Was it the empath, sister?"

"It was indeed. Aura has found her magic at last, and the book has accepted her." Celestia landed, looking faintly tired.

"And her mark?" Luna was curious, but reserved as always.

"A single heart, surrounded by the rainbow fire, with glimmers like that of a star outside of the fire."

"A heart this time. Could it be…?" Luna fixed Celestia with her gaze. Celestia sighed.

"Indeed it _could_ be. For now, we watch and wait."

Luna nodded. "Will you train her here as you have the others?"

Celestia shook her head. "Not this one, no. This one I give to Cadence. She will understand far better than I will what Aura needs because of her own talent, and I am grateful Cadence is up to the challenge. Aura's power is much greater than that of any empath I have yet seen. She channeled the elements _within_ the girls, and used them to beat back the shadow, completely untrained. I doubt most of the fully mature empaths of the past could have done that, and she had never used magic before in her life!"

"So you not only give her to Cadence for teaching, you give her to the Crystal Empire for protection." Luna stated, knowing her sister's thought process well enough to come to that conclusion.

"Yes. She will be safest there. The Empire's magical defenses are stronger than anywhere else in Equestria, until she learns to manage her power correctly, they will keep her safe. I do not trust that the shadow is truly gone. Cadence will also be able to keep a close watch on her. Empathetic magic is powerful, but can turn black easily from misuse."

"That it can." Luna said, softly. "Poor Aura. It is a heavy talent to bear."

"I have a feeling she will surprise you, sister. But no more tonight. It has been a long day, and I crave rest."

"Sleep well my sister." Luna smiled on the retreating back, before resuming her watch on the night. The stars danced and spun in the sky overhead, seen only by Luna and the tired eyes of a bright gold mare who smiled at them contentedly before falling deeply asleep.

_Finis, for now._

_This story is dedicated to all those who identify as empathetic/ highly sensitive. While your gift may not be as strong or reveal itself in quite the same ways as Aura's, it is still very much a real thing and a huge part of who you are. I wrote this story in hopes that those who don't realize yet what they are would finally understand themselves, and those who do know what they are would learn to see it as a gift. For it IS a gift, not an easy gift to bear on many occasions, but a gift all the same. Friend, if you realize that you are empathetic/ highly sensitive, know that you are not defective or weird or overemotional, and that you are most definitely not alone._


End file.
